Missile Agency Director: Budget Request Supports Development

WASHINGTON, March 18, 2015 – The Missile Defense Agency’s fiscal year 2016 budget request continues the development of defenses for the nation, deployed forces and allies and international partners against increasingly capable ballistic missile threats, the agency’s director told Congress today.

Navy Vice Adm. James D. Syring told members of the Senate Appropriations Committee’s defense subcommittee that the $8.127 billion request will also continue his agency’s support of the needs of warfighters and combatant commanders.

The agency’s budget request maintains its commitment to operate and sustain national defenses, he said, including the planned deployment of ground-based interceptors: 40 to Fort Greely, Alaska, and four to Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, for a total of 44 by the end of 2017.

The EKV is the heart of the ground-based midcourse defense, or GMD, interceptor program, which uses land-based missiles to intercept ballistic missiles before they reenter the atmosphere. Tracking begins in the boost phase, and uses data from numerous long-range sensors — including satellites, early-warning radars and the sea-based X-band radar.

“Our budget request this year will support test requirements as we continue to enhance our stockpile reliability program and undertake component aging testing,” Syring said.

The $1.76 billion request for GMD is an increase of $613 million from fiscal 15, but it supports an expanded deployment of interceptors, flight testing, research and development and software and system upgrades.

Testing for 2016 includes a nonintercept flight test to evaluate alternate thrusters intended to divert the vehicle as it refines the target flight path, he said, as well as to support algorithm development for better target discrimination.

“In the following year, we will attempt to intercept an [intercontinental ballistic missile] target for the first time,” Syring said.

“We will also continue development for the redesigned kill vehicle … for improved reliability, availability, performance and producibility,” he added.

According to the agency’s fiscal year 2015 budget overview, the redesigned kill vehicle will be built with a modular, open architecture and designed with common interfaces and standards to make upgrades easier and broaden the vendor and supplier base…